Think for a moment of someone who has believed in you. What has that meant to you? How has that made a difference in your life? What would you not have accomplished had it not been for someone believing in you?
Our son, Cecil, works for a large non-profit organization where he serves as director of a program that offers low-income housing for people getting back on their feet. Almost all have been homeless and are recovering from something – many from drug or alcohol addiction, others have been victims of abuse in some way, and some are military veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. All, however, are far enough along in their recovery to be self-supporting and qualify for permanent housing.
Having worked with this segment of the population for several years Cecil began to notice a common deficiency. All of them at some level suffer from low self-esteem. So, having recognized this he began to consider what kind of program his organization might provide that could address this issue and also attract universal participation. What he came up with was CPR training. CPR is easy to learn – anyone can do it – training does not require an extensive time commitment, and it is relatively inexpensive. Most importantly it can give this group of people a huge boost in their self-image, not to mention that they may one day use it to save another person’s life. Brilliant!
When Cecil presented this idea to his superiors they embraced it immediately, which then put him on a grant-writing mission to get funding for the program. And so I understand there is already a foundation that has expressed serious interest.
Whether or not this program will be successful is yet to be determined, but it certainly seems like a good idea. But regardless of the outcome the greatest thing my son did was to give these people what every human being needs, someone to believe in them.
Who has believed in you, and how has that made a difference in your life? When have you believed in someone else? We all need someone to believe in us. It is one of the greatest gifts one human being can give to another.